Online global planning system for international theater post production and enterprise operations

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus, system, computer program product, and online collaboration tool provide the ability to track a theatrical media content asset in post-production. A title for the theatrical media content asset is initiated in an online global planning system by creating one or more archival versions. Each of the archival versions represents a cut of the theatrical media content asset that is stored in a vault. A presentation version, that is based on a single unique archival version, is created and represents a localized version of the single unique archival version. Areas of the archival version that are required for localization are identified. Requests to release the presentation version are managed and processed. Milestones representing events that are or have been performed on the title are created, and the completion statuses of the milestones are tracked.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) ofthe following co-pending and commonly-assigned U.S. provisional patentapplication(s), which is/are incorporated by reference herein:

Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/013,470, filed on Jun. 17, 2014, byGarrett Vincent-McKay Boss, Giles A. Pretty, Jennie P. Ho, NikolausKelly Ward, and Niravkumar G. Majmudar, entitled “Online Global PlanningSystem for International Theater Post Production and EnterpriseOperations,” attorneys' docket number 241.39-US-P1.

This application is related to the following co-pending andcommonly-assigned patent application, which application is incorporatedby reference herein:

U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/030,503, entitled “Digital AssetDock (DAD)”, by John J. Angelini II, et. al., filed on Jul. 29, 2014,Attorney Docket No. 241.40-US-P1.

U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/174,328, entitled “Global OnlineDigital Asset Management (DAM)”, by Garrett V. Boss, et. al., filed onJun. 11, 2015, Attorney Docket No. 241.43-US-P1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to managing media content, andin particular, to a method, apparatus, system, computer program product,and article of manufacture for planning, scheduling, and tracking assetsin the presentation version creation process including localizationperformed for localized versions of the asset.

2. Description of the Related Art

In filmmaking/video production, once a film has completedshooting/filming/recording, various processes (referred to as postproduction), are performed on the film asset including video and soundediting, adding visual special effects, sound design/effects creationand editing, film transferring/transcoding to a different format,localizing the asset for a foreign release, etc. Further, once a filmhas been theatrically released (e.g., in a movie theater), further postproduction processes may be performed to prepare the film for DVD(Digital Video Disc), VOD (Video On Demand), and/or other home release.Such post production processes are performed by a variety of differententities and vendors for a studio for a variety of differentcountries/regions/territories. Prior art systems fail to provide thecapability to efficiently and accurately track an asset upon thecompletion of filming. Further, prior art systems also fail to provide asystem for users/vendors to collaborate and have access to informationneeded during the post-production phase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention provide a system referred to as COPPER™(Collaborate On Product Planning & Enterprise Resources) (also referredto herein as online global planning system). The Copper™ system providesa method, system, and computer program product for tracking an assetthrough the various stages of film production while providing access torelevant information such that authorized users (including vendors andentities within a studio's production team) can collaborate with eachother as necessary.

Assets (i.e., theatrical titles) with a future release date are added tothe Copper™ system and tracked as they progress from pre-production, toproduction, to post-production, to completion. Relevant informationregarding such titles are available to authorized users forediting/viewing. Further reports and other information may be generatedto enable the appropriate entities to prepare and schedule appropriatepersonnel/teams to perform the desired workflow process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of system interaction between the onlineglobal planning system and other enterprise management frameworkcomponents in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the workflow used in the global online planningsystem in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary interface for performing the cuts andedits functionality in accordance with one or more embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface that may beused to search for/create a presentation in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5A illustrates a graphical user interface for localizing an eventin accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5B illustrates a graphical user interface for filtering and viewingmilestones in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the critical milestone workflow in accordance withone or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary hardware and software environment used toimplement one or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a typical distributed computer systemusing a network to connect client computers to server computers inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 9 illustrates the logical flow for tracking a theatrical mediacontent asset in post-production in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof, and which is shown, by way ofillustration, several embodiments of the present invention. It isunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Enterprise Media Framework Overview

An Enterprise Media Framework (EMF) provides a system for managing alarge volume of media content (e.g., for a studio or other mediaprovider). In particular, the EMF may provide one or more of thefollowing capabilities/features with respect to media content:

-   -   a centralized Digital Asset Management (DAM) and repository (in        a system referred to as “Esprit”);    -   Search;    -   Preview;    -   Download;    -   Ingest;    -   Accelerated File Transfer;    -   Digital Screeners (films/tv);    -   Broadcast Quality File Delivery (self-service and push);    -   Annotation/Markup (time-based and non-time based);    -   Watermark, Digital Rights Management (DRM), etc.

As used herein, the terms media content, media content asset, asset, andcontent refers to any type of digital media content used for television,film, marketing, etc. In this regard, media content may include audio,text, still photographs, videos, etc. Many types and pieces ofinformation or media content may be utilized as part of the broadcast,advertisement, and sale of such content. Content from various studios(e.g., FOX™) may include:

-   -   Over 2,500 Feature Films; over 14,000 Television Series, Seasons        and Episodes; and over 1,000 Specials, Movies of the Week and        MiniSeries;    -   Over 100,000 images: Production Stills, Logos, Artwork, Gallery        and Episodic Photos;    -   Over 12,000 Scripts and over 10,000 Music Cue Sheets;    -   Over 7,300 trailers and other promotional videos;    -   Over 2,500 episodes for screening;    -   Over 9,300 broadcast quality files, representing over 700        episodes; and    -   Over 1,000 broadcast quality promotional videos (Television        spots, etc.).

Exemplary formats in which an asset may be created/stored includes MPEG2(motion pictures expert group version 2), MPEG4, NTSC (nationaltelevision system committee) 4×3 aspect ratio, 30 fps (frames persecond), PAL (phase alternating line) 16×9 aspect ratio at 25 fps, etc.Content may also include television broadcast quality assets, J2K (JPEG2000) files, etc. Additional assets may include DCP (Digital CinemaProjection) files (i.e., theatrical feature or trailer playouts), DCDM(Digital Cinema Distribution master) files (i.e., post production assetsprior to DCP—useful for archiving and may be used for internationalre-versioning purposes), DSM (Digital Source Master) files (i.e., theoriginal film supplied to an encoding facility), MXF (material eXchangeFormat), etc. In this regard, media content assets refer to any type ofdigital representation of media content and/or marketing content forsuch an asset.

Copper™/Online Global Planning System Overview

As described above, a growing number of territories need to localize atitle. Different formats may be required in different territories (e.g.,sound formats, film formats, etc.) and different combinations of theformats are utilized and need to be managed. Prior art systems failed toprovide a centralized capability to store and access such information.

In concert with the EMF system, embodiments of the invention provide anonline-line global planning system (also referred to as Copper™) for theinternational theatrical post production (ITPP) group and vendors. FIG.1 illustrates an overview of system interaction between the onlineglobal planning system and other enterprise management frameworkcomponents in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.The online global planning system 100 is utilized by a variety of usersincluding the ITPP personnel 102 (to perform/create a theatrical plan,version specification, milestone/event tracking, and localizationtracking), and enterprise users 104 (to perform/create a theatricalproduct plan and an HE [home entertainment] Product Plan).

The ITPP group 102 is the team that handles post-production of a titleto prepare the content for theatrical release. The ITPP team/group mayhave representation in a home office (e.g., in Los Angeles), in one ormore regional offices (e.g., London, Sydney, and Mexico City), andvarious territory offices (e.g., within regions). The ITPP team 102 isresponsible for managing the localization and distribution of featurefilms and trailers in over seventy (70) countries and serves as thesource for localized assets for downstream business units. Vendors ofthe ITPP group 102 may include domestic and international vendor usersthat provide services including dubbing, mastering, subtitling,recording studios, mixing studios, etc.

The enterprise and/or enterprise operations group 104 (referred to as EOor enterprise ops) includes the home entertainment group, digital EST(electronic sell through) group (download via digital platforms such asiTunes™, Amazon™, etc.), video on demand (VOD) group, etc. that preparethe firm for post-theatrical release via a variety of mediums. Inaddition, technical services may be provided by various entities(referred to as a tech services team/group) that may perform edits suchthat the title can play on video/DVD/etc.

The online global planning system 100 improves information sharingwithin the ITPP group 102, thereby increasing productivity and reducingexpediting and rework costs. Across the EO group 104, the online globalplanning system 100 provides an on-line global product plan forcollaboration on territory localization decisions, improves assetvisibility between theatrical 102 and enterprise operations 104, andprovides a global schedule to track key milestones and deliverables.

As a general overview, the global online planning system 100 provides aportal to access and maintain asset information that may beprovided/maintained by a variety of different components. For example,title and other information may be accessed by the online globalplanning system 100 from an information/title database/enterprise widedata aggregator 106 (e.g., Foxipedia™) that maintains such information(e.g., release dates by territory) about a title. Further, such a dataaggregator 106 may provide access to additional data (e.g., territorytheatrical release dates maintained within a global theatrical system(GTS) 108).

Theatrical rights (e.g., the theatrical release language rightsincluding rights to distribute a film to a particular territory in aparticular version, etc.) may be maintained in a rights tracking system110 and used by the online global planning system 100. Once localizedtheatrical versions are planned (e.g., by ITPP group 102 or Enterprisegroup 104), the key ordering process 112 may be used to track theprogress of the localized version development. In other words, the ITPPdeveloped product plan is integrated with the key ordering process tosynchronize keys with the asset plans. For example, the KRS system is aninternational key request system that provides presentation versions tobooking systems and Deluxe™ (an entity that provides post productionservices) to create keys (KDMs [key delivery messages] that include keypairs used to decrypt media files). The MOCA system providespresentation versions of the media content to booking systems for theUS, Canada, and Japan, and keys (KDMs) for distribution to theaters. TheOceans™ system is a theatrical booking system used by internationaltheatrical distribution teams for major markets. The Oceans™ theatricalbooking system encompasses film sales contracts, key requests, boxoffice tracking, and theater invoicing and accounts receivable.

The Enterprise One™ database is an ERP (enterprise resource planning)system utilized for issuing purchase orders against archival andpresentation versions and other assets-in-progress.

Once ordered, the localized archive versions may be made into assets andstored in a vault 116 (e.g., a digital vault library for theatricalarchival versions). Further, the different archival versions (in thevault 116) may be tracked and accessed using the online global planningsystem 100.

As described above, throughout the post production process, theatricalmedia content may have different forms. The different forms includetitle, archival versions, and presentation versions. Titles for themedia content asset may be initiated in the online global planningsystem 100 for product planning Such title information may be retrievedfrom the data aggregator 106 or may be input by one or more users.Metadata associated with title information may include:

a world product record (WPR) product ID;

title;

an alias (AKA, FKA);

an alias type;

a security title—a code word determined by the ITTP group for use whenreferencing the media content (e.g., in email or other correspondence)to limit exposure of the information [e.g. “Temper Trantrum” for“Revenge of the Sith”].

a studio—for the studio responsible for the media content;

director;

cast/talent;

US release date;

territory release dates;

rights (territory/language)(Y/N);

life cycle status—status of the media content within the productionprocess/cycle;

competitive release titles—titles of other media content that may becompeting with the release of the media content;

competitive release dates;

texted language—language of the text/subtitles for the media content;

synopsis;

MPAA rating; and

conformed audio.

Archival versions are cuts of the film that are stored in the vault 116.As an example, for a single title, archival versions may include adomestic version, an international version, a first censorship version(e.g., for the Middle East), a second censorship version (e.g., forIndia), etc. Metadata associated with archival versions include anarchival version ID, image aspect ratio, a flag indicating whether thisversion is the original version, an online global planning systemarchival version ID, version type, run time, frame rate, versiondescription, audio channels, dimension, brightness, language, blackwhite/color indicator, version name, and a base package.

Presentation versions are localized (dubs and subtitles) versions in aspecified territory and language based on a single unique archivalversion. Metadata for presentation versions include a presentationversion ID, presentation version status, picture format, encryption,closed caption indicator, audio format, hearing impaired audio flag,content type, visually impaired audio flag, non-commercial flag,dimension, dubbed language, subtitle language 1, subtitle language 2,motion control, closed subtitle language, presentation version notes,revision number, territory, aspect ratio, brightness, and open caption.

FIG. 2 illustrates the workflow used in the global online planningsystem 100 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.The online global planning system 100 initiates work on the title atstep 202. Thereafter, various presentations 204 may be published and/ormay be requested at 206. Once a presentation version has been requestedand authorized, it may be ordered at 208. The presentation versions maythen be provided by the key request system (KRS) (Deluxe™) or MOCAversions/groups 112 to booking systems 210 where keys are ordered at 212and returned to the KRS 112 at 214. Once created, purchase orders may beissued against the archival and presentation versions, and other “BeingMade” assets by the ERP system 114. Once the PO and being made numbersare issued at 216, the asset is defined at 218 (based on the numbers andtitle information) and placed in the vault 116. Throughout the process,the global online planning system 100 may record/track milestones andscheduling at 220 as well and provide localization reporting at step222.

In view of the above, through the online global planning system 100,collaboration is improved both within an ITPP group 102 and acrossenterprise groups 104. In addition, an asset's visibility is increasedthroughout the asset's lifecycle. In this regard, the planning, purchaseorder 114, and vault systems 116 are integrated (via the online globalplanning system 100) to gain visibility for media content “being made”into an asset. In addition to the integration and underlyingfunctionality, embodiments of the invention present/enable/display agraphical user interface that can be used to view the differentproperties and stages of an asset throughout the asset's lifestyle. Oneor more exemplary graphical user interface are described below.

Title Summary

The title summary graphical user interface (GUI) page provides asearchable listing of future releases that have been added to the onlineglobal planning system. Information that may be displayed in the titlesummary GUI may be retrieved from a data aggregator 106 (e.g.,Foxipedia™) that maintains information regarding all of the titles in acontent owner's domain (e.g., all titles in the Fox™ family) includingfuture releases for which production is currently active. Users mayspecify whether to display titles that are not currently inpost-production but have instantiated data maintained in the dataaggregator 106. Further, access to information may be limited based onsecurity privileges. Accordingly, certain vendors/users may only bepermitted to view particular titles/rows for which specificauthorization has been granted.

The title summary GUI may be used to search for a title to review aproduct plan, to initiate a title to start the planning process, toupdate title level templates, and/or to add a placeholder title in theglobal planning system. To search for a title, a user may enter textinto various fields that will search corresponding fields in a dataaggregator 106 (e.g., a search may be conduct by title, WPR product ID,US release date, etc.). Results of the search/query may be displayed ina grid like structure where each row represents a different title andeach column provides a different attribute for the title. Columns may bedragged and dropped as desired (e.g., to rearrange the display in theGUI window), and selection of a column header (e.g., via a click) mayresort all entries based on data within that column (e.g.,alphabetically).

Title level attributes that may be displayed include:

Title—the movie/film/asset title;

InCopper—an indication regarding whether work for the title has beeninitiated in Copper™ (e.g., for planning) A drop down box can be used toexamine titles for which work has not yet been commenced within Copper™(e.g., to filter titles are initiated with a planning in progress or allavailable titles including those not yet initiated yet [e.g., whereinformation for such a title has been retrieved from the data aggregator106[);

-   -   Security Title—code word determined by ITPP 102 to use while        reference the title in email or other correspondence;    -   WPR Product ID—unique ID identifying the title/asset;    -   Studio—name of studio;    -   US Rating—the MPAA rating of the title (e.g., G, PG, PG-13, R,        etc.)    -   US Release date;    -   First worldwide release date; and    -   Title Tier—categorization of title with respect to anticipated        distribution.        An A-D grade specified by ITTP 102. The title tier may be        determined based on a variety of factors including the scale of        the release (e.g., how many markets are releasing the film), the        level of creative complexity, and the level of technical        complexity.

In addition to title level attributes, the title summary grid may alsodisplay version level attributes including:

Runtime;

DCP size (GB)—Digital Cinema Package, size in GB of digital copy ofasset/title;

Billing Footage—calculated field used for billing purposes;

# of reels;

Dimensions—2D or 3D;

Formats—format of asset (digital, IMAX, 35 mm, etc.)

Ratio—flat, cinemascope, full, etc.

Sound—5.1, 7.1, 6.0 IMAX, Auro, Dolby Atmos, etc.

The Title Summary grid may also include contact information (e.g., forthe dubbing and post contact), as well as editing information such asthe dates of the last view and last edit.

All of the title summary attributes may be easily sorted by columnmerely by clicking the column header. Further, based on security (e.g.,access privileges of a logged in user), access to a particular mediacontent asset may not be viewable or available for display within thetitle summary screen. In addition, the user may manually determine whichcolumns/attributes are displayed within a grid (e.g., usingcheckboxes/radio buttons to select columns from a list of columns).

Further to the above, when managing titles, various templates may beselected and used for various purposes. In this regard, templatesrelating to the title may be available for selection and applied when atitle is first added to the online global planning system 100. Apresentation version template contains territory/presentationconfiguration combinations that may be presented to territories toselect from on a presentation tab GUI. A vendor template assigns adefault list of vendors that can be applied to a particular title. AnEnterprise Operations Localization template may include commonlyrequested subtitle and dubbed languages required for home entertainmentand other downstream media.

Title information for the titles displayed (e.g., all titles or titlesselected in a resulting search grid) may also be exported (e.g., to acomma separated value [CSV] file, spreadsheet format file, etc.). Usingan export procedure, the particular columns that the user desires toexport may also be manually identified/selected.

When conducting a search, if a title cannot be found (e.g., because theWPR Id is not set-up, production status is not correctly set, and/or thetitle's release dates are in the past), the user may be presented withan option to add a placeholder title to the online global planningsystem 100. After a subset of information has been added, additionaltitle information/attributes may be automatically retrieved (e.g., fromthe data aggregator 106).

Title Information

Title information may be used to initiate a title in the online globalplanning system 100 in order to start the planning process. Within atitle information GUI, presentation version templates may be selected, acontact for the title may be specified, and global values for usethroughout the title planning process may be specified.

To begin entering such title information, from the title summary GUI,the user may select (e.g., via double clicking) a particular titlefollowed by the selection of an option begin adding the selected titleto the online global planning system 100. Thereafter, the user can enterthe various attributes for the title including a security title MPAArating, tier and presentation view template information, contactinformation (including contact type) and global parameters (e.g.,dimensions, brightness, formats, aspect ratio and whether a particularaspect ratio is available, audio format, etc.) that are all specific tothe selected title.

Further, or in addition to the above, once a user selects a particulartitle from the title summary GUI, a tab may open with detailedinformation regarding the selected title. Additional tabs may also bedisplayed (and may be available for selection) to perform additionalactions. Such tabs include information, product plan, versions,cuts/edits, version plan, presentations, localization tracker,milestones, vendors, and reports. Each tab will be discussed in furtherdetail below.

Information

The Information tab contains high level information that may bepopulated from the data aggregator 106 (as described above) with editpermissions that may be limited to a defined set of users (e.g., homeoffice personnel/users). Within the information tab, additionalinformation may also be displayed including global parameters (e.g.,dimension, brightness, formats, aspect ratio and whether available,sound channel configuration, and checkboxes to indicate availability foreach parameters), documents (that allows the upload of documents forauthorized users to access for collaboration purposes), etc.

Product Plan

Generally, a product plan identifies language rights and dubbing andsubtitle plans for theatrical and enterprise operations as well as thestatus of such plans. When viewed within a GUI, a product plan is amechanism for users to see what has been ordered (e.g., what has beenlocalized in each territory) and the current status of dubs/subs thathave been requested/ordered. Key functionality of a product planincludes the identification of language rights by territory, anidentification of where the rights for a product/media content asset aresourced from (e.g., whether they rights should be populated from anenterprise management system or managed by users [e.g., overriding thesystem]), an identification of territories with approved theatrical duband sub presentation views by language, and a display of dubbing andsubtitling plans from an enterprise operations input screen (includingdue dates for when dubbing operations need to be completed to meetenterprise operations requirements).

Archive Versions

As described above, archive versions allow authorized users to createversions of a title (e.g., different cuts of a film/title)(e.g., fordifferent international territories). For example, an archive versionmay include a 2D original version, a 2D title treatment base package, a3D original version, a 3D title treatment base package and a 2D UKcensorship version. Presentation versions may then be based on thearchive versions. For example, from a 2D original version, threedifferent presentation versions may be created, one with nolocalization, one with French subtitles, and one with English audiodescription tracks, a hearing impaired track, and closed captions.Similarly, from the 2D title treatment base package archival version,several presentation version may be created (e.g., one version with P.French audio, several inserts, and dub cards, and a second version withQ. French audio, several inserts, main on ends, and dub cards).Similar/additional presentation versions may be created that correspondto each of the archival versions. Each of the versions (archival orpresentation) may also be assigned unique identifiers.

As described above, archive versions allow authorized users to createversions of a title (e.g., different cuts of a film/title)(e.g., fordifferent international territories). Details for a particular versionmay be specified including where it is stored in the Vault 116, a uniqueversion ID, descriptions (e.g., censorship version for China), etc.Legal details regarding the archive version may also be specified. Newarchival versions may be added by specifying a variety of attributeinformation for a particular title and/or by using a template.

Referring to FIG. 2, when a title is initiated at 202, a vault requestmay be made to define the asset at step 218 for storage in the vault116. A vault request sends archival version metadata to the vault 116and requests a vault ID for each archival version dimension (2D/3D). Inthis regard, a user activates a selection for a new archival version,selects a version type, and enters all metadata. For the metadata,description fields allow the user to identify information about theversion (e.g., do not show actor Jon Doe smoking a cigar for this Indiacut). A search for the archival version is conducted and if no resultsare found, a new ID request may be initiated and returned.

Cuts and Edits

A tab for conducting cuts and edits may be selectable from within theTitle Information screen. The cuts and edits tab enables authorizedusers to identify edits to the film requested by territory users (e.g.,due to local ratings and censorship activities), to specify territorieswho need identical cuts/edits, and to identify the specific location ofcuts/edits. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary interface for performing thecuts and edits functionality in accordance with one or more embodimentsof the invention. Using the GUI 300, an original version is selected inarea 302. The user then selects an option using icons 304 to add a cutor insert, delete a cut or insert, or copy and paste a cut or insert.Picture changes requested by territories may then be defined in rows306. Each row represents a different cut/edit that is performed.

When the user desires to add a new cut/edit, the user selects icon 308from icons 304 to add a cut or insert. Thereafter, the user can begindescribing the cut or insert in area 310.

Windows 312 and 314 may be used to further specify properties for anarchival version that contains a cut or edit. In particular, window 308may be used to identify territories that may share an archival version(e.g., by activating checkboxes adjacent countries). In addition, usingdrop down box 316 of window 314, the user can specify the time formatthat will be displayed (e.g., in either time code or frames). The ITPPteam 102 may further ensure that the time codes listed for the cuts andedits used for censorship cuts of the film match the edit decision list(EDL)(that reflects that actual edits). In this regard, a territory mayprovide a list of the censored scenes to a home office ITPP team 102.The ITPP team 102 reviews the cuts and edits and sends them to the KRSsystem 112 to have the time codes added for each cut. The KRS system 112returns the cut list with time codes and in response, the ITPP team 102enters the cuts (with the time codes) into the online global planningsystem 100 using the GUI of FIG. 3.

Once a cut has been defined, a cut may be selected and the user can thenselect the various archive version or base packages that the cut will beapplied to.

Version Plan

One of the tabs that may appear in the Title Information screen isVersion Plan. A version plan allows the user to identify a territoryarchival version release plan. Key functionality of a version planinclude allowing multiple archival versions to be selected for oneterritory, applying archival versions to a territory and enablingmilestone planning, publishing territory plans to pass archival andpresentation metadata to KRS 112 and ERP system 114, using a keyboardcontrol (e.g., the Ctrl key) to highlight and select multipleterritories with a single click, and identifying territories withassigned cuts to archival versions.

The workflow for developing a version plan includes a home officeselecting and publishing an original version for the US territory, thesystem passing archival version metadata to KRS 112 and ERP system 114,the home office selecting a territory archival release plan to enablemilestone planning, a territory office requesting presentation versions,a regional office approving presentation requests, and the home officepublishing the territory release plan (e.g., 2-4 weeks prior torelease).

Presentation Versions

Presentation versions provide a mechanism for defining localization fora particular territory. As described above, various presentationversions may be created based on an archive version. Accordingly,presentation versions have a child-parent relationship with archivalversions. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, territory users request thepresentation versions (e.g., at 206) that they plan to release. Oncerequested, a sales team (e.g., part of the ITPP group 102) approves orrejects presentation requests. Approved presentations are used by theERP system 114 for purchase orders (at 216), by KRS systems 112 for keyorders, and by Copper™/online global planning system 100 for milestones(at 220). Territory plans may also be viewed by regional and home officeusers.

When issuing a request for a presentation, territories may specifyvarious attributes/configurations desired. Such configurations mayinclude a territory a status, dimension, format, brightness, aspectratio, sound, etc. A territory user may select one or multiplepresentations to be approved, specify multiple configurations desired(e.g., for multiple different presentation requests), indicate whether arequested presentation will be released, and may then submit a request.

Once requested, authorized users (e.g., users in a regional and/or homeoffice) may create the requested presentation (even if such apresentation is not typically released in a specific territory). Tocreate the presentation, the authorized user may simply utilize a GUIthat permits the user to enter the various parameters for apresentation, and apply/save the results. Such parameters may includethe territory, dimensions, format, brightness, aspect ratio, sound,frame rate, dubbing attributes, subtitle/closed caption information, aswell as the content type (e.g., whether the version is for a feature orfor marketing purposes).

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface that may beused to search for/create a presentation in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention. As illustrated, the user simply selectsthe create tab 402, enters/selects the appropriate configurationparameters in the fields displayed in windows 404-410, and applies/savesthe configuration by selecting icon 412. Accordingly, a user (from aparticular territory) can specify a combination of various parametersand search for a particular version. If the version does not exist, theuser can then issue a request for such a version. Once requested, aregional office may receive a notification and has the ability toapprove/deny the request.

Authorized users have the ability to create, change, or clone one ormultiple presentation (for one or more territories), dimensions, ratios,sound, dubbing, and subtitling languages at a time. Further, allactions, including creation, modification, and approval of apresentation may be recorded to provide a viewable audit trail. Such anaudit trail may include details regarding which user performed anyupdate/edit on a particular attribute. In addition, authorized users canadd a version note to any presentation version (e.g., specifying areason why a presentation version has been revised, why the presentationversion was requested, etc.). The audit trail may be viewable in a GUIthat slides in/out of view (e.g., upon selection of a particular view).Alternatively, information about a particular edit may be displayed viaa pop-up menu upon hovering/clicking on a field/attribute.

In addition to the above, embodiments of the invention may allow theuser to specify an owner of one or more presentation versions. The ownerof a particular presentation version may be the primary territory of thedubbed and/or subtitle language but may be changed as desired. Forexample, a French dubbed and subtitled presentation version may be ownedby France but can be changed to Belgium.

Localization Tracker

A localization tracker enables authorized users to identify areas of atitle/reel for which localization (for a foreign territory) may bedesirable. Users can input information regarding how to handle an event(e.g., dubbing, subtitling, etc.). As an example, when watching a movie,newspapers, signs, menus may be displayed for a specified timeframe(e.g., a sign that says “New York City”) (referred to as an “event”).Authorized users have the ability to specify where such events occur ina title/reel so that others (e.g., local territories) can determinewhether to request a local presentation version or not. Accordingly, thelocalization tracker enables authorized users (e.g., home office,regional office, territorial office, and vendors) to input and managelocalization events. Features of a localization tracker include theability to auto-adjust time codes of each event on censorship versions,an audio trail log of all user changes, a visual indicator of whenevents are eliminated from archival versions, and the ability togenerate tracker reports.

To initiate tracking for a title/reel, a template or other file may beuploaded/imported into the global online planning system 100 andassociated with a particular archival version. An exemplary format ofthe tracker template/file is a comma separated value (CSV) file so thatthe data can be viewed in a spreadsheet or grid type format. Fields inthe tracker template file may include an event ID, a start time code andend time code (identifying the time ranges of the event), the type oflocalization (e.g., main title, narrative title, subtitle, on-screentext, song, main and ends), the original text or lyric of the event, andvarious optional upload fields (e.g., changes to be made). Onceimported, a similar grid type GUI may be displayed for users to furtherview/edit the localization data.

Once a tracker template/file is uploaded and associated with an archiveversion, recommendations regarding how to handle the event locally maybe entered into the GUI within the online global planning system 100.Such recommendations may include dubbing and subtitle recommendationsentered by a home and/or regional office. Various drop down menus may beavailable for recommending users to select recommendations. Examples ofdubbing recommendations may include dub character dialog, dub voiceover,graphic localization, subtitle, territory decision, legal mandate: donot localize, legal mandate: do not subtitle, legal mandate: subtitle,and/or legal mandate: use the original version. Examples of subtitlerecommendations may include subtitle, territory decision, and legalmandate: subtitle. Once the recommendations are complete, therecommending user can elect to publish the recommendations therebyindicating the tracker is ready for territories to make localizationdecisions for the events.

Local/territory users then have the option to order/request localizationbased on the recommendations. In this regard, a local user can made adecision regarding how to localize an event (based on a recommendation).Localization options/decisions may include dub character dialogue, dubcard, dub voiceover/narrator, graphic localization, notapplicable/original version, subtitle, etc.

FIG. 5A illustrates a graphical user interface for localizing an eventin accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. Asillustrated, the recommendation by a home office is listed in column502. The decision regarding how to localize the event is set in column504 by the local user. The translation or other information may beentered by the local user in column 506 and additional comments (e.g.,as required to supplement the localization decision and/or translation)may be specified in column 508. Each localization event is representedin a separate row of window 500. Individual events may also be splitinto multiple entries (e.g., to allow more reading time for anaudience). Further, an event may also be respotted where the time codeof the event is shifted (e.g., delaying subtitling because the dialogueoccurs during the event). Also, multiple events may be merged togetherby combining multiple events into one event with one set of time codes.All iterations for different localization recommendations/decisions maybe tracked and can be compared to each other

In an exemplary use case, a user from Germany may make a decision tolocalize a graphic for a particular event. The tracker may progressthrough various iterations (e.g., from a preliminary tracking initiatedby a user to the final tracking including the final localization), andall of the iterations may be compared to each other to determine thechanges made.

Milestones

Milestones are events/actions that are to be/have been performed on oneor more titles. Accordingly, a milestones tool within the online globalplanning system 100 provides the ability to track deliverables, duedates, and other information across a title's life cycle.

Different milestones may have different primary/secondary ownersdepending on the scenario. For example, the primary owner for a finaldubbing reference delivery milestone may be the home office. However,the primary owner for a subtitled translations due milestone may be aterritory office. Home and regional office users may be secondary ownersto all territory milestones.

Milestones may be triggered by a variety of events including a titleinitiation, an archival version and territory assignment, a presentationversion approval, a dimension, a sound format, and/or dubbing andsubtitling localization. In addition, a user may generate user definedmilestones that consist of predefined milestones that do not havedependencies (i.e., on other milestones) but will appear inwork-in-progress reports.

FIG. 5B illustrates a graphical user interface for filtering and viewingmilestones in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.The top portion 510 of FIG. 5B provides the ability to filter themilestones that are displayed in area 512. Users can filter milestonesby area 514 or type 516 (e.g., dubbing translation, etc.). Territoryrelease milestones may be initiated when a title is created in theonline global planning system 100. Other milestones may be initiatedbased on the occurrence of other events. For example, a sourcingmaterial milestone may be generated when a territory is assigned to aversion, a dubbing milestone when a regional office approves a dubbedversion, a subtitle milestone when a regional office approves asubtitled version, etc.

To edit a particular milestone, the user can simply select a milestoneend date field and enter the date manually or use a calendar function toselect a date. If there is a conflict between one or more milestones, agraphical indicator (e.g., a blue or green arrow pointing up or down)may be displayed (e.g., in a conflict column) and indicate whether theconflict is downstream or upstream. Selection of the graphical indicatormay open a dependencies window to permit the viewing of any milestonesthat may be dependent on a particular milestone. An error field maydescribe any errors incurred due to milestone date conflicts.Adjustments to the day and week of a selected milestone can be made toview the impact on conflicts and the overall schedule. Users may alsoenter text in a notes field to explain dates, conflicts, or otherscheduling highlights.

A user may also have the ability to associate each milestone with anasset identifier that identifies an asset that the milestone relates to.Such an asset identifier may be selected to retrieve/view high levelinformation about the asset (e.g., using a look-up service of the vault116 where the asset is stored).

FIG. 6 illustrates the critical milestone workflow in accordance withone or more embodiments of the invention. The ITPP group 102 initiates atitle in Copper™ 100 at step 602. Once initiated, milestone releasedates (defined/input from the global theatrical system 108) may beapplied by online global planning system 100 at step 604. Afterinitiating the title, a new version may be created by the ITPP team 102at step 606 and a territory may be selected in the version plan at step608.

The online global planning system may generates source materialmilestones (e.g., final dubbing, final dialogue, final scoring, finalfpotting, M&E and sound material, feature 2K files ready, and archive orbase packages) at step 610. Once generated, an email notification may beprovided to the home office team 612 that the new title is available toenter material milestones. In response, the home office team 612 mayenter material milestone event dates at step 614.

The regional office 616 or territory office 618 may then requestpresentation versions at step 620. To trigger the territory office 618requesting a presentation version, the territory office 618 may receivea notification (e.g., via email) that a new title is available. Theregional office 616 then has the option to approve the presentationversion or not at step 622.

Alternatively, or in addition to requesting presentation views at step620, once material milestone and event dates are entered at step 614,the home office 612, regional office 616 or territory office 618 mayenter mastering milestone and event dates at step 624. A determinationis then made at step 626 regarding whether a subtitle presentation viewhas been approved. If a subtitle presentation view has been requested,Copper 100 is used to populate the mastering and subtitle milestones forthe HO 612, RO 616, and TO 618 users at step 628. Such a population ofdata may include due dates/deadlines for DMU (Digital Musician) and/orWAV file delivery, subtitle translations, subtitles for enterpriseoperations, and a localization tracking report.

A determination is made at step 630 regarding whether the materialmilestones are complete. If not, material milestone dates are entered atstep 632 and the process repeats until the material milestones arecomplete.

Once material milestones are complete, mastering and subtitle milestonesand event completion dates may be entered at step 634. Thereafter, adetermination is made if a dub presentation view has been requested. Ifno dub presentation view has been requested, the process is complete atstep 638. If a dub presentation view has been requested, the processcontinues at step 640 where the mastering and dubbing milestones for HO612, RO 616, and TO 618 users are entered. Such milestones may includedue dates/deadlines for localized picture files, dubbing translations,dub cards, EO deadline to access tracks from sound, and/or a localizedtracking report. The home office then determines/loops at step 642 and644 until the material milestones are complete (for the mastering anddubbing milestones). Once complete, the mastering and dub milestone andevent completion dates are entered at step 646.

Vendors

Vendors may be utilized to provide post-production services. The onlineglobal planning system 100 can be used to track the services performedby vendors. To track vendor activities, vendors may be provided withaccess privileges to use various aspects of the online global planningsystem 100. Vendor access can be assigned based on territory, type, etc.For example, international mastering and localization vendors may haveedit access on title level screens (e.g., cuts/edits, localizationtracker). Further, the vendor of choice (i.e., the preferred vendor) maybe selected/identified within system 100. Vendors may be provided withview only rights to all titles, view only rights to specific titles,edit rights to one or more titles, view access to limited informationwithin a screen, etc.

Reports

Within a selected title, various reports can be produced within theglobal online planning system 100. A user has an option to select a typeof report (e.g., HO Recommendations, Localization by Event, Localizationby Territory, Milestones, Presentation Versions, and Title Tech Data).Once a report type has been selected, various parameters may bedefined/selected to filter the result set displayed in the report. Forexample, report filter parameters may include area (e.g., dubbing,subtitle, mastering, etc.), milestones (e.g., all or a subset), region,territory, language, archive versions, etc. Available reports mayinclude:

-   -   Home Office Recommendations—on how territories should localize        events on a localization tracker);    -   Legal—legal sends contracts out to talent that will due the        dubbing and a legal report indicates territories that need a        dub, an identification of the dubbing studio, and/or information        regarding the contract of the dubbing studio;    -   Localization be event—review territory localization decisions by        event;    -   Localization by Territory—Review Territory Localization        decisions on the dubbed and/or subtitled tracker;    -   Localization Completion Status—Shows events by territory,        language, and whether it is completed so that archive group can        track versions and/or local territory to perform any necessary        actions;    -   Milestones—Review milestones for various areas (i.e.: Dubbing,        Subtitle, Mastering) for deliverables and due dates for the        presentation versions;    -   An export of milestones by area;    -   Presentation Versions—Review all the presentation versions and        approval status for the territories;    -   TDR—Review title/logo information and key dates. Used to        determine what has been delivered and high level information.        TDR report can also be run for all titles from a report tab; and    -   Title Tech Data—Review high level technical data for the title        (e.g., reels, summary, cast, frames and billing footage        information).

Notifications

Various notifications may be delivered to one or more users based on theoccurrence of one or more events. Such notifications may be customizedbased on various attributes/user information. For example, weekly anddaily notifications may be provided and may be unique for each receivingvendor. In this regard, notifications may be limited to the titles,territories, and languages that the vendors are assigned to. Suchnotifications may provide updates regarding when titles are added orupdated, when archival versions are added/updated, when a localizationtracker is updated, when enterprise operations has received an update,when milestones are added, changed, completed, etc.

Hardware Environment

FIG. 7 is an exemplary hardware and software environment 700 used toimplement one or more embodiments of the invention. The hardware andsoftware environment includes a computer 702 and may includeperipherals. Computer 702 may be a user/client computer, servercomputer, or may be a database computer. The computer 702 comprises ageneral purpose hardware processor 704A and/or a special purposehardware processor 704B (hereinafter alternatively collectively referredto as processor 704) and a memory 706, such as random access memory(RAM). The computer 702 may be coupled to, and/or integrated with, otherdevices, including input/output (I/O) devices such as a keyboard 714, acursor control device 716 (e.g., a mouse, a pointing device, pen andtablet, touch screen, multi-touch device, etc.) and a printer 728. Inone or more embodiments, computer 702 may be coupled to, or maycomprise, a portable or media viewing/listening device 732 (e.g., an MP3player, iPod™, Nook™, portable digital video player, cellular device,personal digital assistant, etc.). In yet another embodiment, thecomputer 702 may comprise a multi-touch device, mobile phone, gamingsystem, internet enabled television, television set top box, or otherinternet enabled device executing on various platforms and operatingsystems.

In one embodiment, the computer 702 operates by the general purposeprocessor 704A performing instructions defined by the computer program710 under control of an operating system 708. The computer program 710and/or the operating system 708 may be stored in the memory 706 and mayinterface with the user and/or other devices to accept input andcommands and, based on such input and commands and the instructionsdefined by the computer program 710 and operating system 708, to provideoutput and results.

Output/results may be presented on the display 722 or provided toanother device for presentation or further processing or action. In oneembodiment, the display 722 comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD)having a plurality of separately addressable liquid crystals.Alternatively, the display 722 may comprise a light emitting diode (LED)display having clusters of red, green and blue diodes driven together toform full-color pixels. Each liquid crystal or pixel of the display 722changes to an opaque or translucent state to form a part of the image onthe display in response to the data or information generated by theprocessor 704 from the application of the instructions of the computerprogram 710 and/or operating system 708 to the input and commands. Theimage may be provided through a graphical user interface (GUI) module718. Although the GUI module 718 is depicted as a separate module, theinstructions performing the GUI functions can be resident or distributedin the operating system 708, the computer program 710, or implementedwith special purpose memory and processors.

In one or more embodiments, the display 722 is integrated with/into thecomputer 702 and comprises a multi-touch device having a touch sensingsurface (e.g., track pod or touch screen) with the ability to recognizethe presence of two or more points of contact with the surface. Examplesof multi-touch devices include mobile devices (e.g., iPhone™, Nexus S™,Droid™ devices, etc.), tablet computers (e.g., iPad™, HP Touchpad™),portable/handheld game/music/video player/console devices (e.g., iPodTouch™, MP3 players, Nintendo 3DS™, PlayStation Portable™, etc.), touchtables, and walls (e.g., where an image is projected through acrylicand/or glass, and the image is then backlit with LEDs).

Some or all of the operations performed by the computer 702 according tothe computer program 710 instructions may be implemented in a specialpurpose processor 704B. In this embodiment, the some or all of thecomputer program 710 instructions may be implemented via firmwareinstructions stored in a read only memory (ROM), a programmable readonly memory (PROM) or flash memory within the special purpose processor704B or in memory 706. The special purpose processor 704B may also behardwired through circuit design to perform some or all of theoperations to implement the present invention. Further, the specialpurpose processor 704B may be a hybrid processor, which includesdedicated circuitry for performing a subset of functions, and othercircuits for performing more general functions such as responding tocomputer program 710 instructions. In one embodiment, the specialpurpose processor 704B is an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC).

The computer 702 may also implement a compiler 712 that allows anapplication or computer program 710 written in a programming languagesuch as COBOL, Pascal, C++, FORTRAN, or other language to be translatedinto processor 704 readable code. Alternatively, the compiler 712 may bean interpreter that executes instructions/source code directly,translates source code into an intermediate representation that isexecuted, or that executes stored precompiled code. Such source code maybe written in a variety of programming languages such as Java™, Perl™,Basic™, etc. After completion, the application or computer program 710accesses and manipulates data accepted from I/O devices and stored inthe memory 706 of the computer 702 using the relationships and logicthat were generated using the compiler 712.

The computer 702 also optionally comprises an external communicationdevice such as a modem, satellite link, Ethernet card, or other devicefor accepting input from, and providing output to, other computers 702.

In one embodiment, instructions implementing the operating system 708,the computer program 710, and the compiler 712 are tangibly embodied ina non-transitory computer-readable medium, e.g., data storage device720, which could include one or more fixed or removable data storagedevices, such as a zip drive, floppy disc drive 724, hard drive, CD-ROMdrive, tape drive, etc. Further, the operating system 708 and thecomputer program 710 are comprised of computer program 710 instructionswhich, when accessed, read and executed by the computer 702, cause thecomputer 702 to perform the steps necessary to implement and/or use thepresent invention or to load the program of instructions into a memory706, thus creating a special purpose data structure causing the computer702 to operate as a specially programmed computer executing the methodsteps described herein. Computer program 710 and/or operatinginstructions may also be tangibly embodied in memory 706 and/or datacommunications devices 730, thereby making a computer program product orarticle of manufacture according to the invention. As such, the terms“article of manufacture,” “program storage device,” and “computerprogram product,” as used herein, are intended to encompass a computerprogram accessible from any computer readable device or media.

Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that any combinationof the above components, or any number of different components,peripherals, and other devices, may be used with the computer 702.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a typical distributed computer system800 using a network 804 to connect client computers 802 to servercomputers 806. A typical combination of resources may include a network804 comprising the Internet, LANs (local area networks), WANs (wide areanetworks), SNA (systems network architecture) networks, or the like,clients 802 that are personal computers or workstations (as set forth inFIG. 7), and servers 806 that are personal computers, workstations,minicomputers, or mainframes (as set forth in FIG. 7). However, it maybe noted that different networks such as a cellular network (e.g., GSM[global system for mobile communications] or otherwise), a satellitebased network, or any other type of network may be used to connectclients 802 and servers 806 in accordance with embodiments of theinvention.

A network 804 such as the Internet connects clients 802 to servercomputers 806. Network 804 may utilize ethernet, coaxial cable, wirelesscommunications, radio frequency (RF), etc. to connect and provide thecommunication between clients 802 and servers 806. Clients 802 mayexecute a client application or web browser and communicate with servercomputers 806 executing web servers 810. Such a web browser is typicallya program such as MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER™, MOZILLA FIREFOX™,OPERA™, APPLE SAFARI™, GOOGLE CHROME™, etc. Further, the softwareexecuting on clients 802 may be downloaded from server computer 806 toclient computers 802 and installed as a plug-in or ACTIVEX™ control of aweb browser. Accordingly, clients 802 may utilize ACTIVEX™components/component object model (COM) or distributed COM (DCOM)components to provide a user interface on a display of client 802. Theweb server 810 is typically a program such as MICROSOFT'S INTERNETINFORMATION SERVER™.

Web server 810 may host an Active Server Page (ASP) or Internet ServerApplication Programming Interface (ISAPI) application 812, which may beexecuting scripts. The scripts invoke objects that execute businesslogic (referred to as business objects). The business objects thenmanipulate data in database 816 through a database management system(DBMS) 814. Alternatively, database 816 may be part of, or connecteddirectly to, client 802 instead of communicating/obtaining theinformation from database 816 across network 804. When a developerencapsulates the business functionality into objects, the system may bereferred to as a component object model (COM) system. Accordingly, thescripts executing on web server 810 (and/or application 812) invoke COMobjects that implement the business logic. Further, server 806 mayutilize MICROSOFT'S™ Transaction Server (MTS) to access required datastored in database 816 via an interface such as ADO (Active DataObjects), OLE DB (Object Linking and Embedding DataBase), or ODBC (OpenDataBase Connectivity).

Generally, these components 800-816 all comprise logic and/or data thatis embodied in/or retrievable from device, medium, signal, or carrier,e.g., a data storage device, a data communications device, a remotecomputer or device coupled to the computer via a network or via anotherdata communications device, etc. Moreover, this logic and/or data, whenread, executed, and/or interpreted, results in the steps necessary toimplement and/or use the present invention being performed.

Although the terms “user computer”, “client computer”, and/or “servercomputer” are referred to herein, it is understood that such computers802 and 806 may be interchangeable and may further include thin clientdevices with limited or full processing capabilities, portable devicessuch as cell phones, notebook computers, pocket computers, multi-touchdevices, and/or any other devices with suitable processing,communication, and input/output capability.

Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that any combinationof the above components, or any number of different components,peripherals, and other devices, may be used with computers 802 and 806.

Logical Flow

FIG. 9 illustrates the logical flow for tracking a theatrical mediacontent asset in post-production in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention.

At step 902, a title for the theatrical media content asset is initiatedin an online global planning system. Each of the archival versionsrepresents a cut of the theatrical media content asset that is stored ina vault. The initiating is performed by creating one or more archivalversions in the online global planning system. Further, the initiatingmay include defining archival metadata for each of the archivalversions. Such archival metadata includes information about thetheatrical media content asset including a release date. Additionalmetadata may include a product identifier, a title, a security title, astudio, production information, a life cycle status, a texted language,a synopsis, and an MPAA rating. Optional additional metadata may alsoinclude an archive version name, an archive version description, anaspect ratio, a frame rate, a runtime, a dimension, a resolution, abrightness level, a DCP size, and/or a color. The archival metadata mayalso be imported from an enterprise wide data aggregator (e.g.,Foxipedia™) that maintains information about numerous media contentassets.

At step 904, a presentation version that is based on a single uniquearchival version of the one or more archival versions is created. Thepresentation version represents a localized version of the single uniquearchival version. The localized version may consist of a dub or subtitleversion of the single unique archival version in a specified territoryand language and/or may represent a unique combination of multiple filmformatting parameters. Further, the presentation version maydefine/include presentation metadata such as a presentation version ID,a dubbed language, a subtitle language, and a territory. Furtherpresentation metadata may include a caption language, a hearing impairedfeature, a visually impaired feature, an encryption flag, an archiveversion name, an aspect ratio, a runtime, a dimension, a resolution, abrightness level, and/or a territory. Part of the creation process mayinclude configuring filter parameter(s) to view a listing of multiplemedia content assets that have been initiated followed by the selectionof the theatrical media content asset from the listing (for which theuser desires to base a presentation version). Within the global onlineplanning system, access to the archival versions and the presentationversion may be limited based on security privileges of a user.

At step 906, for the single unique archival version, one or more areasof the single unique archival version that are required for localizationto create the presentation version are identified (e.g., by definingcuts and edits applied to the single unique archival version). Such astep may also include selection of the single unique archival versionfollowed by the display of a master list of all the cuts and edits thatare applied to create the presentation version.

Such an identification of areas may include receiving an upload oflocalization events (e.g., from a vendor), receiving localizationrecommendations (for the localization events) from one or more firstusers (e.g., home office users), followed by the ability to receivelocalization decisions (regarding the localization recommendations) fromone or more second users (e.g., regional offices, territory offices,and/or vendors). The localization decisions may include an inputlocalization decision, an input translation, and an input comment. Inaddition, an audit trail log for all user changes that are performed maybe maintained. Further, a graphical user interface (e.g., used by anenterprise operations team) may provide the ability to select an optionfor dubbing and subtitling localization for Enterprise operations. Suchan option may enable the assignment of the territory and language of theEnterprise Operations team to the unique archival version.

At step 908, one or more requests to release the presentation versionare managed and processed.

Various steps may be performed to create and or manage the archivalversions, presentation versions, and a release plan for such versions(referred to as a version plan). Accordingly, the performance of suchsteps may also include the selection of multiple archival versionsfollowed by the assignment of the selected multiple archival versions toa territory. Based on the assigning, archival metadata and presentationmetadata may be created. Further, also based on the assigning, thearchival metadata and the presentation metadata may be passed to a keyrequest system that creates keys and an enterprise resource planning(ERP) system that issues purchase orders against the one or morearchival versions and the presentation version. Requests to release thepresentation version are received (e.g., from a territory office). Therequests to release the presentation version are approved (e.g., by aregional office). The territory release plan that describes releasedates for the one or more archival versions and the presentation versionis then published (e.g., by a home office).

At step 910, one or more milestones are created and the completionstatuses (of the one or more milestones) are tracked. Each of themilestones represents one or more events that are or have been performedon the title. Such events may include the initiating of the title, anassigning of a territory to the one or more archival versions, anapproving of the presentation version, a dimension, a sound format, anda dubbing and subtitling localization. In addition, conflicts betweenthe one or more milestones may be managed by displaying errors incurreddue to milestone date conflicts, and the adjusting of completion dates(of the milestones) to determine an impact of the adjusting on theconflicts. Step 910 may also include managing and tracking assetdelivery against the milestones (e.g., by assigning an asset ID onmilestones that track deliverables). Such milestones may also bedisplayed in a calendar view.

Further to the above, steps 902-910 may also include the generating ofone or more reports (e.g., an archive version report, a presentationversion report, a milestone report, and/or a localization report). Usersmay select which report to generate from a list of reports.

CONCLUSION

This concludes the description of the preferred embodiment of theinvention. The following describes some alternative embodiments foraccomplishing the present invention. For example, any type of computer,such as a mainframe, minicomputer, or personal computer, or computerconfiguration, such as a timesharing mainframe, local area network, orstandalone personal computer, could be used with the present invention.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the inventionhas been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. Itis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to theprecise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by theclaims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for tracking atheatrical media content asset in post-production, comprising:initiating a title for the theatrical media content asset in an onlineglobal planning system by creating one or more archival versions in theonline global planning system, wherein each of the one or more archivalversions represents a cut of the theatrical media content asset that isstored in a vault; creating a presentation version that is based on asingle unique archival version of the one or more archival versions,wherein the presentation version represents a localized version of thesingle unique archival version; for the single unique archival version,identifying one or more areas of the single unique archival version thatare required for localization to create the presentation version;managing and processing one or more requests to release the presentationversion; and creating one or more milestones and tracking completionstatuses of the one or more milestones, wherein each of the one or moremilestones represents one or more events that are or have been performedon the title.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein theinitiating comprises: defining archival metadata for each of the one ormore archival versions, wherein the archival metadata comprisesinformation about the theatrical media content asset including a releasedate.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein thearchival metadata further comprises: a product identifier; a title; asecurity title; a studio; production information; a life cycle status; atexted language; a synopsis; and an MPAA rating.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the archival metadata isimported from an enterprise wide data aggregator that maintainsinformation about numerous media content assets.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: configuringone or more filter parameters to view a listing of multiple mediacontent assets that have been initiated in the online global planningsystem; and selecting the theatrical media content asset from thelisting.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thelocalized version comprises a dub or subtitle version of the singleunique archival version in a specified territory and language.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the localized versionrepresents a unique combination of multiple film formatting parameters.8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the presentationversion comprises presentation metadata comprising: a presentationversion ID; a dubbed language; a subtitle language; and a territory. 9.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: limitingaccess to the one or more archival versions and the presentation versionbased on security privileges of a user.
 10. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, further comprising: selecting multiple archivalversions from the one or more archival versions; assigning the selectedmultiple archival versions to a territory; based on the assigning,creating archival metadata and presentation metadata; based on theassigning, passing the archival metadata and the presentation metadatato a key request system that creates keys and an enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) system that issues purchase orders against the one ormore archival versions and the presentation version; receiving the oneor more requests to release the presentation version; approving the oneor more requests to release the presentation version; publishing aterritory release plan that describes release dates for the one or morearchival versions and the presentation version.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the oneor more areas of the single unique archival version comprise definingcuts and edits applied to the single unique archival version.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: selectingthe single unique archival version; displaying a master list of all thecuts and edits that are applied to create the presentation version. 13.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprisingmaintaining an audit trail log for all user changes that are performed.14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identifyingthe one or more areas of the single unique archive version that arerequired for localization comprises: receiving an upload of localizationevents from a vendor; receiving localization recommendations from one ormore first users for the localization events; and receiving localizationdecisions regarding the localization recommendations from one or moresecond users.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, whereinthe localization decisions comprise: an input localization decision; aninput translation; and an input comment.
 16. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the identifying the one or more areas of thesingle unique archival version comprises: selecting an option fordubbing and subtitling localization for Enterprise Operations; andassigning a territory and language associated with an EnterpriseOperations group to the single unique archival version.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more eventscomprise: the initiating of the title; an assigning of a territory tothe one or more archival versions; an approving of the presentationversion; a dimension; a sound format; and a dubbing and subtitlinglocalization.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: managing conflicts between the one or more milestones by:displaying one or more errors incurred due to milestone date conflicts;and adjusting one or more completion dates of the one or more milestonesto determine an impact of the adjusting on the conflicts.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising managing andtracking asset delivery against the one or more milestones by assigningan asset ID on milestones that track deliverables.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displayingthe one or more milestones in a calendar view.
 21. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising generatingone or more reports selected from a group consisting of an archiveversion report, a presentation version report, a milestone report, and alocalization report.
 22. An online global planning system for tracking atheatrical media content asset in post-production comprising: (a) acomputer having a memory; (b) an application executing on the computer,wherein the application is configured to: (1) provide an onlinecollaboration tool for product planning and enterprise resources; (2)initiate a title for the theatrical media content asset by creating oneor more archival versions, wherein each of the one or more archivalversions represents a cut of the theatrical media content asset that isstored in a vault; (3) create a presentation version that is based on asingle unique archival version of the one or more archival versions,wherein the presentation version represents a localized version of thesingle unique archival version; (4) for the single unique archivalversion, identify one or more areas of the single unique archivalversion that are required for localization to create the presentationversion; (5) manage and process one or more requests to release thepresentation version; and (6) create one or more milestones and trackcompletion statuses of the one or more milestones, wherein each of theone or more milestones represents one or more events that are or havebeen performed on the title.